Selling Your Home / Selling a Property (Philippine Setting)

By:  Gigi Bonquin, REB REA REC

(Topics include real estate agents, internet/social media, pricing, perspective, showings and offers.

This article advises home sellers/property owners about how to make crucial decisions related to selling their properties. 

If this is your first time selling a property in the Philippines, here are the things you must prepare or put in order before finally deciding to sell.

1. Make sure all property documents are in order.

In the Philippines, these documents are a must and the most important documents you must prepare and put in order.

1. Transfer Certificate of Title/ Condominium Certificate of Title. Is the title already in your name? Make sure there are no encumbrances, liens, or adverse claims. See our appendix for types of encumbrances that you may find at the back of your title.
2. Tax Declaration for both land and building. (There should be two tax declarations if there is an improvement. Make sure they are updated to the latest issuance.)
3. Updated Real Property Tax. This is paid annually, and LGU gives discounts if you pay by December of the previous year up to the first quarter, depending on the LGU where your property is located.

Note. If you have questions about the property you want to sell but do not have these documents in order, please email us at philredirectory@gmail.com.

• Research the current market value of the property.

If the above documents are in order, the next thing to do is to determine the market price of your property. In the Philippines, brokers are not allowed to appraise or give value to your property because that is the appraiser’s job. It will be a conflict of interest for the broker. If you encounter one with both licenses, ask whether he/she wants to represent you as your broker or appraise your property. If you encounter and will accept or insist on representing both for your property, look for a more honest one.

It isn’t effortless to look for comparisons here, even if your property is in the same village or you have the same house or condominium unit style because it depends on how the property is maintained and its location. Hiring a reliable and experienced real estate appraiser can give you an idea of the value of your property. Ensure the appraiser gives you three or more comparatives and has explained well how he/she came up with the concluded value. You may get two or more appraisers if you are not satisfied with the values to compare the results. Based on these values, you may also ask yourself honestly, if you are the buyer, how much you are willing to pay for it, then you may establish your asking price. Consider also that the seller pays capital gains tax, which is six (6%) percent based on the document price or zonal values established by the BIR, whichever is higher, and the broker’s fees, usually five (5%) percent of the agreed selling price.

(To be continued)